Custody battle continues over obese Dachshund

Have you noticed that so often when a dog gets famous, everyone wants a piece of him?

Of course you have.

Obie, a sweet obese Dachshund, is now the subject of a custody battle between his caretaker, Nora Vanatta, and Jenell Rangan, owner of the Oregon Dachshund Rescue.

Unable to resist his big brown eyes, Obie’s ageing owners practically fed him to death, as he ballooned to 70-pounds, over twice what he should weigh.
When they could no longer take care of him, the Oregon Dachshund Rescue was notified.

Nora Vanatta responded to a Facebook page to care for him. A volunteer from the rescue delivered him to Vanatta’s home.

Vanatta, who has a degree in animal science and is a certified veterinary technician with eight years experience, put him on a special diet with plans to begin swim therapy and treadmill exercise. In the future he may have to have surgery to remove excess skin.

Vanatta and Obie appeared on several popular morning network TV shows and Vanatta has set up a PayPal page for Obie, which she says has received thousands of dollars to help pay for Obie’s diet, veterinarian and exercise expenses.

Janell Rangan, owner of the rescue, filed a lawsuit because she believes Vanatta is exploiting the dog (“He’s a dog, not a celebrity”) and not giving him proper care. She believes the TV appearances were inappropriate and his 6-hour airplane flight to New York in cargo was a danger to his health. Since the dog was turned over to her rescue, she contends that Vanatta has no legal right to keep him.

Nora Vanetta Janell Rangan

A judge recently ruled that while the lawsuit played out, Obie would stay with Vanatta and continue his weight loss program.

Why is it that a rescue that has to advertise on Facebook for people to care for special needs dogs can pay $200-$250 an hour or more to hire a lawyer?

Comments

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I thought once a dog is rescued from a rescue center the rescuer is free to do what they think is best for that dog. In this case, the dog seems to be thriving in its new home. I don't see how the rescue can make a case in court and should use it's money more wisely.

We took my brother's visibly overweight Shepherd mix for almost 2 weeks while he and his family went on vacation. She received the same love, food, and exercise that our dogs got routinely. Nothing special. When they picked her up, the dog had lost quite a bit of weight and looked fit and healthy.

This made them realize that because they weren't able to walk her and she had no yard in which to run, it would be better to let her live with a family who could better provide for her needs. They gave her to a friend where she thrived for several years until this woman was moving and could no longer care for her and was going to take her to a shelter.

My brother and his family took her back and made sure she was walked regularly. I just saw a picture on Facebook of my newest niece (now 2 years old) lying on her and giving her love. What a story.

"Why is it that a rescue that has to advertise on Facebook for people to care for special needs dogs can pay $200-$250 an hour or more to hire a lawyer? "
You hit the nail on the head! Everyone wants their 5 minutes of fame.

It really chaps my ass that hundreds of people will line up to adopt a Chihuahua with no front legs while there are thousands of "regular" dogs waiting for homes in animal shelters that have no takers.

Why is that the shelter owner fails to realize that almost feeding a dog to death is much more cruel than a 6 hour plane trip? Even though I don't agree with all the exposure this case has gotten I still think the owner should be hit with an animal cruelty for what she did to her dog and not be allowed to own dogs in the future. She obviously does not how know to properly care for a pet.